towseyfrench.comThrough Joe Bike's Cash for Clunkers program, you can ride away in one of these utility bikes today!

As of today, the Obama administration's Cash for Clunkers program is kaput. Done.

But Joe Doebele's is just starting up in Southeast Portland.
Because the federal government probably won't be offering a trade-in program to help people buy new bicycles, Doebele is doing it out of his small Hawthorne Boulevard bike shop.

"I'm even calling it Cash for Clunkers," he said as we stood talking next a dusty white Huffy that had just been brought in. "It's the same idea - but it will get you on a new, zero-emissions bike."

5 things to know about your commute

Interstate 405 northbound, Fremont Bridge to Marquam Bridge
Last week, northbound. This weekend, southbound again. ODOT plans to close this southbound stretch of 405 - that's right, the whole thing - from 10 p.m. Friday to 5 a.m. Monday for repaving. Expect one more weekend closure for the $11.6 million project in mid-September.

"Fiddler on the Roof" at Keller Auditorium, Portland
This isn't a review of the play (which hope will get a thumbs up). It's a preview of the traffic tie-ups expected to be caused by the production unloads its trucks. The left lanes of Southwest Clay Street, Market Street and Third Avenue will be closed around Keller today and Tuesday during rush hour.

Buffered bike lanes, Southeast Holgate Boulevard, Portland
Dude, where's my car lane? Well, the city has removed two of five vehicle lanes on Holgate from 122nd Avenue to the the new I-205 MAX station near SE 92nd Avenue for 7-foot-wide "buffered bike lanes." Before you start grumbling about more city bike projects and how they're leading us down the road to socialism, know this: The neighborhood requested the project.

Streetcar construction, Northeast Grand Avenue between Burnside and Davis streets, Portland
Ah, a streetcar named Gridlock. You probably experienced last week, when it took nearly 20 minutes to get a few blocks in this area. Construction has started on the Portland Streetcar Loop that will serve the eastside. The contractor is relocating water lines, which means lane closures on Grand Avenue. Wednesday night, the work caused traffic to back up across the Burnside Bridge into downtown.
Google-mapping the Portland area's worst parking spots
All the cool kids are using Google Maps. So, we thought we'd join the fun and give those of you who responded to last week's column about parking a chance to add to what will no doubt eventually be the ultimate guide to the region's nastiest lots and garages. Just go here to add your least-favorite parking spots to the interactive map.

That's right. Just bring your creaky but repairable old bike or car into Joe Bike. Doebele will donate it to charity and slash up to $200 off the cost of a shiny new cargo-hauling utility bicycle. As an added incentive, Zipcar is pitching in its own cash discounts for car-sharing accounts.

You'd be wrong to wave off Doebele as another anti-car militant who refers to drivers as "cagers." Let the record show that Doebele drives a truck.

It's an observation about a Portland commuting phenomenon that I've watched pick up speed in the past year. Businesses are taking it upon themselves to offer bicyclists what were once car-only perks and opportunities.

Burgerville, for example, just announced that bicyclists can now pedal up to any of its 39 drive-thrus and place an order. Over at Portland-based Unitus Community Credit Union, they're offering low-interest "bicycle loans" to help customers get on a new set of two wheels. AAA, the world's oldest automobile club, has started offering road-side assistance for bicycles -- but only in Oregon.

Meanwhile, the city, acting on the request of shop owners, has removed dozens of car parking spots to build 19 bike corrals around the city. An area once occupied by two vehicle spaces can now hold at least 20 bicycles locked to metal racks. That's parking for 18 more customers.

Still, I asked Oregon State University economist Patrick Emerson if I be imaging things. "No," he said, "It's becoming pretty obvious to me."

Even if businesses aren't directly offering a service or benefit to cyclists, they're trying hard to connect with their values. Emerson pointed to pizza places that deliver on bikes.

"It's essentially marketing to a growing consumer base," he said. And, he said, it's a reflection of a serious shift in values brought on by a transportation mode.

I'm not going to say the bike is the new car in Portland. Yes, bike commuting shot up nearly 30 percent between 2007 and 2008. But bicyclists still make up less than 10 percent of daily commuters in the city.

Yet I am in awe at how the cycling community, despite being a minority on the roads, has generated its own energy. No need for government handouts, even in a depressing economy. Businesses are eager to tap into it and be accepted.

As of last week, more than 50 businesses were on a list at the Portland Bureau of Transportation, waiting for the city to install bike corrals outside their front doors.

Doebele was an early supporter of the federal Cash for Clunkers program, thinking it would get more fuel-efficient vehicles on the roads.

"But I realized that if people are driving a clunker, they probably don't have too much cash to spend on a new car," Doebele says, "and we're asking them to go deeper into debt to drive more."

Ironically, Doebele is starting to sound like an auto dealer caught up in the Cash for Clunkers craze. "I'm worried," he said, looking around his shop, "about running out of bikes."